Kubu Island is a dry granite rock island located in the Makgadikgadi Pan area. Kubu Island is the only place on a Botswana safari with prominent rocky features, breathtaking views of the salt pans in the Makgadikgadi with solitary, aesthetic beauty.
Beautiful in a rugged, enigmatic way made more so by the presence of puzzling relics and ruins that litter the arid hillside. Artifacts found on the side of the lake appear to date from early Stone Age times, perhaps from over 100 000 years ago to recent decades.
Researchers have suggested that the island may have been used for ancient rainmaking ceremonies with its rocky outcrop being the highest point in the area.
Human settlers would not have survived here without water it has been surmised that the island was probably inhabited when a large lake still surrounded it or possibly several water pans fed by various watercourses. Perhaps there were fish, crocodiles, and hippos.
Gaing O Community Trust are the custodians of Kubu Island National Monument and camp site in Sua Pan.
Khutse Game Reserve is part of an ancient river system that once flowed northeast to fill the prehistoric Lake Makgadikgadi. Khutse's Pans and dry river valleys are remnants of this river system. The reserve also includes a series of picturesque pans - Motailane, Moreswa and Molose pans - where wildlife congregates particularly following good rains.
These locations provide good game viewing opportunities for visitors. Water is also sometimes pumped to artificial waterholes at Moreswa and Molose to improve game-viewing throughout the year.
Animals commonly sighted include springbok (often in abundance), gemsbok, giraffe, wildebeest, hartebeest, kudu, black-backed jackal, steenbok, duiker and the accompanying predators, such as lion, leopard, cheetah, smaller cats and the endangered brown hyena.
There are several interesting trails to experience to Sekhushwe and Mohurusile pans and longer drive to Moreswa Pan.
The San and Bakgalagadi peoples – the Kgalagadi's original inhabitants – live in small villages on the reserve's edge. Their traditional arts and crafts can usually be purchased there, and walks with local San guides can be arranged at the Khutse Kalahari Lodge, located about 10 km from the reserve entrance.